Lost in transition

Winter: the element of desire when it comes to a niche market enjoyed throughout the world. Despite our anticipation here in the Maritimes, we are only allotted an extreme lack of prevalence for the sensation of crisp air piercing our skin and sound of snow crunching beneath our feet. This time of year holds a certain lifestyle for us. If you thought I was talking about Christmas, then you’re at least half right. I'm talking about the ski season. We are snowboarders and skiers, and we are slaves to the love that we have for these few short months. If we’re lucky, you will find the majority of us working at our local ski hills to satisfy the craving. I had approximately 70 days of bliss this year, working as a snowboard instructor as well as a terrain park supervisor, at my home hill of Ski Martock.
     Though Summer’s antithesis delivers us delight, it isn't without a bittersweet debt to be repaid. The spring, the shoulder season, bears an essence where we can only reflect and recover, and hunt for a means to get us by until the next winter rolls around. Without a doubt it is the biggest cause of what I like to call the "post-shred depression". We're laid off, taking time to finally sleep in – if waking up as late as 9AM counts as sleeping in – and we get a bit lazy.
     In the past few years, it’s become more apparent that all of us at the ski hill go through this phase, and it’s an unavoidable part of our devotion, like undershooting a jump and knuckling it. But what if there was a way to combat it? What if there was a way to pin it, and sail into the sweet spot of the landing after the winter is over? What if the season didn’t end?
     Although it is a fairly uncommon solution, there are select individuals that make the pilgrimage below the equator to New Zealand and Australia, as our seasons oppose. Before you get all starry-eyed, it is important to realize the cost of pulling a year round winter is definitely not inexpensive. Flights to the South Island of New Zealand can set you back anywhere from $1,300 to $1,500 one way, not to mention the $2,500 for a round trip. As if the airfare wasn’t enough to deter you, the fact that you’ll be working a minimum-wage gig to pay for the Ichiban noodles and cheap beer while extending the ski bum life just might. Nonetheless, if your heart is truly set on this commitment, it means you're going to need a work permit and lots of savings, as in the application process it is required you to have a certain amount of cash on hand before you’re allowed to travel there. Immigration NZ's monetary requirements for their Canadian Working Holiday Visa is at least $4,200 NZD (New Zealand Dollars) which is $3,900 and change in Canadian dollars. If you can weave your way through the hoops you have to go through to obtain a working holiday visa for down under, then I’d say you’ve put in the work and deserve every piece of your paradise.
     Given my own personal experience with the frostless depression – and everything that I do to battle it – I’d like to share that it is definitely an obstacle that is easy to overcome. Through my own healthy balance of strength training at the gym to hiking and writing, I can say I have managed to stay content. The amount of activity we face as winter enthusiasts is enough that simply doing nothing will only heighten the cabin fever.
     So, in conclusion, although the end of another winter season means storing away our boots and boards/skis, it doesn't necessarily mean the end of us being outside and active. If anything, our thrill from this exhilarating sport drives us to be more active in all seasons in a multitude of ways, and it's all a matter of finding what you're most passionate about, and sticking to it like spring snow to the top sheet of your board or skis.